Nature Trail

Out here
In the forest
I walk along a path -
A meandering nature trail
That winds lazily past an old mill pond
Whose waters, mirror-like, reflect
The late afternoon sky.
And as I walk,

The trail

Goes round the bend,
Between two mossy oaks,
And over a wooden footbridge.
Soon it climbs a gently rising hillock,
Then sharply descends - narrower.
Gnarled, twisted tree roots choke
This pathway where

I tread.

Under my feet,
A carpet of pine needles
Cushions my steps. Above my head,
Ancient towering pines reach for the sky;
And the leaves of maples and oaks
Begin changing colors
As summer wanes.

I hear

Nature's chorus
Singing its melody.
The wind sighs its sibilant tune
Through treetops; birds warble their forest song;
A woodpecker keeps the tempo;
As I journey along
This forest path
Out here.